Chapter 4 -- Salvaging Nepris

[Terra Artemos]

Terra still seems to be thinking deeply, concidering courses of action, how to find Nyari, and how to get her back if she was taken hostage, yet she speaks up.

"That Atreyk has a nick name for whatever reason is trivial right now. We can not even be sure he has taken Nyari, and in either case where she is. We are know to his men, those of us that have come already involved ourselves, we are no longer concerned passers by. We can't simply wander around asking questions, its more than likely if they have her they are trying to draw us into the open. From what I saw at the wood cutters cottage, this Atreyk has likely an army of men at his desposal, or at very least enough to over power us. We need a way to get information without presentin outselves to Atreyk and his men."

'I am grey. All but those like me see only darkness and light, they do not see the grey between them. In this greyness I dwell. I would not wish this fate on any other.'

[Illix]

"She speaks the truth, The Saphire Eye has many tricks up his sleeve."

Illix thought to herself a moment, then looked up from her thoughts with a jolt of realization. "The Saphire Eye? So I was right about who this Atreyk person is. I'm not sure whether or not I should be glad or dissappointed about that however..." she let the thought trail off before continueing. "If that is the case, then you will definately be needing my services. I've faced this man before, and believe me, the fact that he's still alive after facing me is more than enough proof that he is dangerous."

Here I go, playing the Hero again...

[Paladia Entonei]

"We can't simply wander around asking questions, it's more than likely if they have her they are trying to draw us into the open. ... We need a way to get information without presenting outselves to Atreyk and his men."

"Terra's right," Dominic replied, apparently having composed himself as he sat back down at the table, his thick calloused fingers toying absently with a peice of the quilted runner. "We've posed a threat and for our safety, the rest of the town's and most importantly Nyari's, we can't act rashly about this whole business." The sailor's eyes were drawn to Illix as he said this just as she began to speak.

"The Saphire Eye? So I was right about who this Atreyk person is. I'm not sure whether or not I should be glad or dissappointed about that however... If that is the case, then you will definately be needing my services. I've faced this man before, and believe me, the fact that he's still alive after facing me is more than enough proof that he is dangerous."

Paladia stared in disbeleif at Illix. What were the chances that she had already faced this horrible man? "Good of you to mention it before," she began somewhat bitterly, but checked herself and continued, "Do you know anything that may lead us to him? And I've seen him fight... his skill isn't too much for us to handle, I'm sure."

[Thaedras]

I do not know. My father is the one who handles any inventory downstairs here... I just help with the sale. Thoughmy father did send me out to the market one day as he dealt with some 'important business'. I returned later and found the cellar full again.

Thaedras immediately looks around the room until he sees what he needs, a crowbar. Jamming the wedge side under the lid of one of the mystery crates, THaedras pushes down with his considerable might, hoping to open the crate.

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

[Shan Gutarus]

Shan's ears swiveled on the alert, his head swinging around and nearly smashing into an adjacent crate. The sound of the crate being ripped open seemed to echo unusually loud in the cellar, hurting the cat's sensitive ears and spooking him something awful. With a hiss, Shanvorin stalked back to where he had left Thaedras and Rosie, only to find the idiotic sailor, prybar in hand, and Rosie standing dumfounded over some kind of pile.

On closer inspection, the shingar found it to be an assortment of armour. It dawned on him that that was where the heavy stench of fresh leather had come from, sniffing along the other crates. Suddenly, the smell of leather disapeared from one box to another and Shan began clawing curiously at the side of the wood, meaning to catch Thaedras' attention to open it.

[Thaedras]

Easily taking the lid off of the crate, Thaedras breaks open the crate. As soon as the lid is off, the smell of leather grows extremely strong. Looking into the crate, Thaedras sees that it is full of armour.

Thaedras is silent for a moment, as is Rosie. After a moment, Theadras hears the sound of the Shingar clawing at a different crate, looking over. Thaedras sees that by the looks of it, the cat is trying to get his attention, for it looks at him every once in awhile.

Theadras moves to that crate, sticks his prybar in, and tries to open it. As he does, he asks Rosie.

You don't sell armour here, do you?

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

[Illix]

Illix smirked grimly, mostly to herself. "Trust me, it's not his 'skill' you need worry about. As for anything that may lead you to him, if I knew where that snake was any more than that he's in this village, I'd be wiping his blood off of my blades at this moment."

Here I go, playing the Hero again...

[Paladia Entonei]

Rosie shakes her head timidly, her eyes drifting to the confused and thoughtful Cole for support every once in a while. "No. We just sell normal things... fishing supplies, sugar... that kind of thing. I don't know why this'd all be here..."

Cole rest a heavy hand on her shoulder, gripping it reassuringly. "If most of these boxes are supplies for the mercenaries.... then we definately have a problem. Nobody knows how many of them there are. They come and go, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups," he began, gesturing to the faint arguing of the mercenaries coming from above. "But there is definately not this much. These are supplies for a far larger party, and I can only wonder what sick plans Atreyk has for our village. We need to get out of here, and get back to the others. Tell them what we know. Because of our agression towards them... what if Atreyk bumps up his plans for the future?"

~~~~

Paladia scrutinized Illix's face as she spoke. The woman was hiding something... she knew something else. Before the elf could ponder it further, her thoughts were interrupted by Dominic.

"I must ask you, Illix," he began slowly, "When you fought this man... did he fight alone? I can think of no reason for him to survive against your blade without help of another, and even that being said, I think it would take a force of many men to keep you from his neck from what I have seen today." A sly smile tugged discretely at the ends of his lips as he said this, the seriousness of the situation seeming to slip slightly from his eyes for a moment, looking to Terra. "And you too, lady, have fine as skill with a blade as any fellow I could say," he grinned, before adding, "Though their grace fell short and you are no pain to the eyes."

"Boy, stop fooling," Pellegra snapped, her old face creased crudely with drying tears. "Please, girls. Speak."

[Terra Artemos]

Terra nods shortly to Pellegra's statement, then looks to Dominic.

"Your recognition of my skill is noted but that has nothing to do with the emediate situation at hand."

Terra glances to quickly to Illix, like Dominic suspecting she knows more about Atreyk that she is telling, but leaves what more she may know be for the time being. Instead she chooses to address everyone.

"There has to be some way of finding out where the child is, then we need to know everything we can about that place so we do not fall into a cleverly baited trap. I suspect the fight at the woodcutters cottage was to be such a trap, but they did not think we would circle around them as we did."

'I am grey. All but those like me see only darkness and light, they do not see the grey between them. In this greyness I dwell. I would not wish this fate on any other.'

[Warrior Kaelan]

Kaelan drew his bastard sword. "I think we should move - now. To hell with those out there."

He turned toward Cole. "Did you find that door? I'd rather not be smashing things trying to find it myself - forget it."

Kaelan stumbles his way to the edge of the cellar, and begins looking, feeling, trying to find the exit. His plan is simple. Find it, smash it, and get out of here. If the mercenaries outside want a fight, they can have it - the more of them the better. In all honesty, he's never been good one-on-one.

Why do you ask?

[Illix]

Illix smirked at the man who'd spoken. She certainly didn't mind his comments on her abilities, she was a powerful warrior... but she saw through his act. He gave her the impression of a flatterer, and was almost certain he was simply hoping she'd fall for his kind words, drape herself over him and beg for him to take her there on the table.

She considered doing just that, just to see if her impression was at all accurate... but she didn't want to kill this man. He'd done nothing truely wrong. Not yet, anyway.

"It's true, the coward wouldn't face me alone. However, it wasn't any group of men that stopped me. It was... something...else." Illix paused a moment, closing her eyes and letting her hat tip forward and shade her face. "What he sent against me was a creature of incredible power. It... caught me offguard, that's all. I wasn't expecting something so feirce to be in the service of a pathetic mercenary leader." She struggled as she spoke, not wishing to remember her defeat, the carnivore, the pain, the humiliation...

"Wait... wait a minute... I may have some idea where he is!" Illix looked up suddenly, a sudden realization entering her mind. "That creature needs to eat, and I'm sure The Sapphire Eye still has it around, so he has to have an ample supply of meat to keep it alive... so if we find where his creature is feeding from, we'll find Atreyk!"

Here I go, playing the Hero again...

[Isaraldor Glamthail]

Isaraldor was lying there for quite some time before he finally started to awake. With some coughing as he pulled himself up, he fell back down and groaned. He asked himself why his body was hurting so much. Then he remembered the girl. "silly child" he muttered to himself.

sig made by gararion

Can you withstand my eternal onslaught of wind and water?
Isaraldor Glamthail-Santharia

[Thaedras]

This entire situation was much bigger than Thaedras had thought. He had to get to Dom.

Theres nothing the five of us including the cat can do. We need allies, and fast. If we can find my friend Dom, then get to my ship, my crew can help us out, and if things get to nasty, Dom and I can provide a fast way out, but I will find Dominic before I do anything against these mercenaries.

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

[Paladia Entonei]

Paladia stared dumbfounded at Illix, wondering what on earth the woman was rabbling on about. Creatures? Meat? Surely no animal, no matter how mighty, could take them all down. The elfess was suddenly reminded of the shingar. They had been taking an awful long time to deliver that package to the girl in the village... what if they had been captured?

"Sweet Baveras..." murmured Dominic suddenly, rousing the young elf from her thoughts, "the shipyard." They all looked at him curiously, egging him on to continue. "The shipyard... ever since Atreyk's begun polluting the town with those scoundrels, people have been too afraid to breathe. Even the boys who looked after the shipyard threw up their arms and quit, tired of being harassed by mercenaries. Besides, this animal you speak of could easilly dine on the useless fish and their remains. That has got to be where Atreyk's run, his tail between his legs."

Paladia scoffed. "How can you know that? You were wrong before... you said the mage would be in the loft, yet he was in the basement," she said scornfully, gesturing to the cot where Isaraldor had begun to rouse. "If it hadn't been for you, we could have all gone for the cellar, which would have been immensely more successful."

"You have nowhere else to go," Pellegra voiced quietly, "So it is somewhere. Wake the mage... he will be tired, but able. The walk will do him good."

Paladia nodded quietly in obedience. She may be doubtful, but Pelle, though not technically her senior, was wise and nearing the end of her stay, and so she deserved respect. The warrior quietly climbed the steep ladder-like stairs to the loft and timidly reached out to tap the sleeping mage on the shoulder.

~~~~

As Kaelan explored past the crates and boxes of weaponry and armor, he neared the door to the cellar. It was roughly a ped and a half wide, though a meager ped and a fore tall. Four uneven brick steps lead up to the slanted door which leaned back over the opening. The heavy, deteriorating and moldy wood was laden thick with strong, iron chains with a massive lock hanging limply in the stale air. On the other side of the door was a similar setup of looping chains and a twin lock.

As Shan heard the rattle of chains, he trotted over casually and inspected the door, his eyesight superior to everybody elses, even in the dim, afternoon light that filtered in through the few cracks in the wood. It would take five men to break this down he thought with dismay, looking to the lean Cole, his dainty girlfriend and the two older men.

[Thaedras]

Thaedras saw the cat give him a distinct look, and went over to it to investigate. He soon finds the door the cat was trying to get his attention with. The chains he couldn't do much about....but the wooden door...the moldy wooden door he could make much much weaker. Thaedras calls out to the others.

It is about to get very cold in here.

Taking some rosemint leaves out of a pouch in his sash, he puts them in his mouth a starts to chew. While there, he mumbles something that sounds magical. Instantly, the temperature around Thaedras drops dramatically. The liquid in the door freezes, causing splits in the wood. He calls back to the others,

The Door can be taken care of with ease now, although the chains will prove tricky.

The wind in my Hair, The spray of the ocean in my face.
I love Life at sea.

- Thaedras

Edited by: Thaedras at: 11/28/05 2:18

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